Cathy Freeman

Is Aborigine

2000 Olympics: 400 m gold

Winner of the 1998 Australian of the Year award.

Winner of the 1990 Young Australian of the Year award.

I think the greatest amount of pressure is the pressure I place on,myself. So in a way I chose to be alone.

You got to try and reach for the stars or try and achieve the,unreachable.

I have time to breathe, time to be myself more often, I am a lot more,relaxed and less guarded.

Australians are a fantastic bunch of people but the attention can be,overwhelming for someone like me.

Between 1991 and 1997 I had really serious asthma.

I definitely do things on my terms, it may not seem that way but I,actually do.

I lie around the floor with my cats Billy and Jazz or watch DVDs with my,best friends.

I like being in the workforce; it keeps me grounded.

I like looking feminine and I enjoy being a role model. I enjoy being a,woman. It all comes down to having the confidence to be who you are.

I make no apologies.

I want to keep my private life private.

I was always surrounded by expectation from the very first race I ran as,a 5-year-old.

My last real race was at the Olympics in Sydney in 2000.

Peace, unity and harmony!,People could see in me who I am now, an Olympic champ, the best in the,world.

The thing I do best is laugh.

This occasion is personally very meaningful and I hope to visit Korea,again if I have the chance.

I was going to shave it. It went in two parts. I got a bob first but it,kept falling all over my face. Then it was off, short. The main reason,it was long was because my mother cut it short when I was little and I,was trying to make up for that.

Peace, unity and harmony!,I think the greatest amount of pressure is the pressure I place on myself. So in a way I chose to be alone. .